You never really know just how badly you need a vacation until you’re on one. Or at least that’s how I felt about our trip to the beach with my family two weeks ago. It didn’t matter that I’d forgotten my vitamin D and thyroid medicine (something that usually dictates whether I can function like a normal human being or not on a day to day basis) or that I rarely ever got more than 5 ½ hours of sleep (thanks to blinding daylight and little boys who rise with the sun). I never even had a cup of tea the entire time I was there because I didn’t need it. Apparently all I needed was an extra long weekend without an alarm clock, a lack of my life and jobs demands, a few hours in the sun every day, and quality time spent with my favorite people on the planet: my family.

You might think sharing a beach house with 12 of your relatives would be chaotic, and you’d be right, but it’s the best sort of chaos one can ask for. Amidst all the shouting over each other, elbows colliding in the close quarters of the hallway, fighting for 1 of the 3 bathrooms, and trying to coordinate schedules so we’re all ready at the same time for adventuring, I realized how very similar my own family is to the Griswold’s and probably the reason the Lampoon Vacation movies are some of my favorites. We’re a crazy bunch and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

So where did we go? A tiny strip of beach and shops just before Rehoboth Beach called Dewey Beach. Previously I’d only ever been to Ocean City, but after spending a peaceful week in the quaint little beach that is Dewey, I don’t think I’d ever go back to O.C. again. It was just so homey. Not overly crowded, everything within walking distance, a boardwalk not quite as busy as O.C.’s but a boardwalk nonetheless. Everywhere we ate was delicious, from crab cakes to cotton candy ice cream and our house was just a few steps from the beach. It couldn’t be any more convenient. We were also only 3 minutes from the outlets, so we came home with some tax free finds at about half the cost of what we would have paid at home too.

On our second to last day, we dropped by Bethany Beach, which was maybe 15 minutes away from Dewey to visit my uncle on my dad’s side. He recently bought a beach house on the bay side and says if we ever want to stay in it, we only need to pay the $100 cleaning lady fee! I hope to definitely take him up on that sometime in the future because it’s a crazy nice house.

Our days in Dewey were spent soaking up the sun and crashing into waves, while our nights in Dewey were spent at the boardwalk, arcade, golfing, and eating out, followed by family game nights playing the hilarity that is Fishbowl and Bean Boozeled, the grossest game to ever exist. We laughed every night till our insides hurt; I still don’t know how Gideon and Abel managed to sleep through it all, to be honest. We’re not a very quiet bunch.

The family as a whole had so much fun, I’m fairly certain my parents have already reserved the house again for next year and I can’t wait! For only being 2 hours away, Heath and I are even considering a quick overnight stay later in the summer just so we can get in one more beach day before summer’s gone. If you’ve been here for any bit of time, you probably already know how much I typically loathe summer, but if my summers could always be at the beach, my perspective would be totally different. In Dewey, it was 88 and we walked everywhere, but I barely broke a sweat because the breeze coming off the ocean keeps you cool. When we got home, it was only 73, but the humidity was so stifling, you feel like you’re trapped in a sweaty bag the second you step outside. It really drove home the idea that my tolerance of heat/summer (or lack thereof) is largely dictated by the humidity factor.

I can’t even explain how much I miss being there, even two weeks later. I took over 4K pictures on the trip and only about 700 of them were blurry. If you click through them fast enough, it’s almost like watching a movie of our time there. I’m equal parts remembering it happily and also sadly about it being over until next year. I seriously can’t wait to go back! But in the meantime, I’ve been tagging along with my aunt to her country club pool(s) to keep what little Irish tan I have alive and continue to soak up some real vitamin D. It’s not the same, but it will do for now. 😉

I have two folders worth of pictures to share, if you’re interested in seeing some of the highlights from our tip. The first are just pictures from my “Story” on SnapChat. (I’m on SnapChat, btw, if you want to follow me – swhisted, like everywhere else) And the others are from my real, good camera, which I must say performed so amazingly on the beach. Capturing water and sand in motion in near perfect clarity really excites my photographer heart. You can access these albums by clicking the two pictures in this post or clicking HERE and HERE!